The New Cat
by KondorFire
Summary: The medicine cats recieve a message from StarClan: a new cat is coming, and trouble along with it. A human girl begins to have strange dreams. Who is this girl? This new cat? What is the oncoming trouble? The Clans must be ready for what awaits them.
1. Prologue: The Prophecy

The New Cat

Prologue: The Prophecy

_The first meeting of the medicine cats after Hollyleaf's big announcement and Leafpool's flee from the Clans…_

"Greetings, Jayfeather. How is everything in ThunderClan?"

"All is fine Barkface," Jayfeather replied coldly. He knew what was coming next."

"How are you holding up? Being the only medicine cat of a Clan is hard work?

"I am doing perfectly well, thank you." A silence fell upon the two cats. The only sounds were of the stream trickling along and Kestrelpaw, Barkface's apprentice, leaping at the butterflies flitting around.

"Hello Jayfeather, Barkface." The two cats turned around to see the ShadowClan medicine cat, Littlecloud, and his apprentice Flamepaw approaching them.

"Hi Jayfeather," said Flamepaw excitedly. The apprentice was trembling with excitement at the prospect of his first medicine cat meeting. He would be visiting with StarClan for the first time and become a true medicine cat's apprentice.

"Hi," Jayfeather replied flatly. He was particularly unhappy that night and did not have the patience for apprentices. He especially did not want to be asked how he was holding up again. Luckily, Littlecloud had the sense not to ask.

"Congratulations, Flamepaw," Barkface said to the apprentice, "May StarClan help you serve your Clan well for many seasons."

"Thank you Barkface."

"Why must RiverClan cats always late," Jayfeather complained."

The wind picked up just then, carrying along with it the scent of RiverClan. The group turned to see Mothwing and Willowshine, the RiverClan medicine cats, running towards them over the hills of WindClan. The group waited for the approaching RiverClan cats.

"Sorry we're late," Mothwing apologized as she and Willowshine reached the waiting medicine cats. "There was a case of a bellyache we had to take care of. So, Jayfeather, how are you getting along by yourself?"

Jayfeather turned his back towards them and growled as he started up the path to the Moonpool.

"What's wrong with him," Willowshine asked. "He seems as if he's got ants in his fur."

The cats walked along in silence until they arrived at the Moonpool, where Flamepaw received his first view of the mystical place. He saw the spiral path that led down to the secluded pool, the beautiful rock of which the surrounding walls were made of, the colors of the setting sun across the breathtaking landscape, and the crystal clear water of the Moonpool itself.

"It's beautiful," the apprentice remarked. He raced down the spiral path to the edge of the pool of water. He bent his head to take a drink when he was scolded by his mentor.

"Not yet! It is not time," Littlecloud told him. "You have been patient for long enough. A little longer yet should not be that hard."

"Sorry Littlecloud."

"Apprentices will be apprentices, I suppose," commented Barkface. The medicine cats waited in silence for the sun to set…

"It is time," announced Littlecloud, his apprentice trembling from anticipation.

As Littlecloud began to carry out the proper ritual, Jayfeather thought about what he would experience that night. Wound he enter the dreams of other cats as usual, or would StarClan finally send him a dream of his own now that he was the only medicine cat the ThunderClan had? An important dream at that, not one in which he was scolded by Yellowfang.

Only Flamepaw's "I do," brought him from his thoughts. The medicine cats then proceeded to drink the liquid star shine that was the Moonpool.

The cats opened their eyes to find that they were in a clearing. All of them, which was different compared to every cat having their own dream, which is what usually happened. What made it even more unusual is that the four cats that StarClan send to represent the four Clans all appeared from the bushes around the clearing. From the left, Tallstar of WindClan. From the right came Crookedstar of RiverClan. Nightstar of ShadowClan appeared from behind the medicine cats and Bluestar of ThunderClan appeared in front of them. The medicine cats were shocked. None of them realized that Mothwing was not there with them.

"What's going on," Jayfeather asked. "Why have you brought all of us here?"

"Calm down Jayfeather," Crookedstar told him.

"We bring news from StarClan," said Nightstar.

"A new prophecy, in fact," Tallstar clarified.

"We have all shown up because of the importance of this prophecy. If something were to go wrong, this could mean the end of the Clans as we know them," Bluestar said. The next time she opened herm mouth, the telltale sound of a prophecy was emitted within the words she spoke. "A new cat will come. It will save the Clans from the danger they are in. Be warned, though. Do not shun this cat because you don't know its deepest secret of life. If you do, saving you will not become its strife," Bluestar finished. The StarClan cats vanished.

The dreaming cats woke up, troubled by the new prophecy. There had never been one like this before. They padded back to their Clans in silence. On his walk through ThunderClan territory, Jayfeather's mind was racing. What did the prophecy mean? What danger were the Clans in? And most of all, who was this new cat?


	2. Chapter 1

The New Cat

Chapter 1

**KondorFire here. If you are reading this, that means that you have read the prologue. For that I thank you. This chapter might confuse you just a bit until the end. If you get confused, don't stop reading. I promise it gets better and you will understand it at least after the last paragraph. Happy reading!**

**I own nothing Warriors. This storyline, however, is mine.**

"Hey Kaitlin." I turned to see my best friend, Melody, coming up behind me. I was at our school's band hall. I play the trumpet, the best instrument ever, and so every morning I have to run by the band hall to put it in its locker. Most mornings, unless she was in tutorials for one of her classes, Melody was there to greet me. This morning, I happened to have gotten there before her.

"Hi Melody," I said.

"You look tired," she told me. "And why are you here so early?"

"I couldn't sleep," I replied. In fact, my sleep has been disturbed by weird dreams for a while now.

"Bad dreams?"

"Yes." This was true empty.

"Can you remember what they were about?"

"No." This was a lie. How could I not remember what they were about? I was getting the same dream every night. I would restless after the dreams, unable to go back to sleep. I said good-bye to Melody and went to my first period class: US History. I hate US History. I don't get why I have to take it so many times. I'm sixteen, which means that I have been in school for eleven years. I think I know the history of the United States now.

I got to the classroom and went to sit at my seat next to the window. I tuned my teacher out when he started lecturing on the Louisiana Purchase and looked out the window. As I watched the trees swaying in the cool October wind and the clouds lazily floating by, my eyes started to close…

I could smell the scent of the forest all around me. Trees, brambles, dirt, underbrush, flowers, everything. The sounds of the forest surrounded me. The chirping of a bird, the scuttling of a mouse, the wind through the leaves. The wind brought with it the smell and dampness of water. This place seemed familiar. I heard my name being called. I turned around to see a blue-gray cat standing there.

"Kaitlin," it said.

"What?"

"Wake up!"

_Bang!_

My eyes snapped open. I saw a large US History textbook in front of my face and my teacher's angry gaze directed at me. I realized that I had fallen asleep.

"Kaitlin," he told me, "I do not tolerate students falling asleep in my class. I will let you off with a warning this time, but if you do this again, I will have to give you a detention. For now, though, if you are falling asleep in my class, you are obviously not feeling well. Go to the nurse."

I gathered my things and headed for the nurse's office. She went through the usual check up, looking at my throat, checking my temperature, etc.

"You look tired, Kaitlin," she told me. "Are you getting enough sleep at night? No, of course you aren't. None of you teenagers do. You have a slight fever. I suggest you go home and rest up." She handed me a slip that I had to give the front office so that I could leave. I took her advice and went to my car.

As I drove home, I thought about what had happened. It was the same dream again! There was something different about it this time, though. It was much more vivid. I could actually make out the different sounds and smells of a forest. And this time there was that cat.

The forest! The forest by the lake. In my dream, I was in the forest by the lake a couple of miles outside the city. I used to go there as a kid. I would play in the lake water or run around through the woods with my parents close behind. Now the forest was showing up in my dreams.

When I got home, I quickly wrote a note to my parents telling them that I needed some fresh air and was going to the lake. I left it on the kitchen counter and ran upstairs. I changed into my cute light blue bikini and put on some small pink shorts. I didn't plan on swimming, but who knows? Besides, it probably feels really great out there. I ran back downstairs, started my car, and headed off for the lake.

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Ah, the lake. It smells so nice. Not many people come here when its no summer, so I was the only one here. I parked my car and got out, taking in the beautiful scene. I can't believe this place is going to be gone in a few months. As I was listening to the radio on the way here, I had heard a commercial saying that this forest was going to be torn down and replaced by a mall. I'm kind of upset. I used to love coming to this place during the summer. Now they were going to tear it down.

I realized that I had started walking through the forest. I snapped out of my thoughts and surveyed the area around me. I smelled the scents of the forest. The trees, brambles, dirt, underbrush, flowers, everything. I could hear the chirping of a bird, the scuttling of a mouse, the wind through the leaves. I watched the trees swaying in the breeze. The wind brought with it the smell and dampness of water. This seemed oddly familiar.

I remembered my dream. What I was looking at and experiencing, the scene right now around me, was the same thing as my dream. Is this even possible? If everything around me was the same as my dream, then would the cat be here as well? I pondered this for a moment, but froze when I heard something behind me. I slowly turned around to see a blue-gray cat watching me. The weird thing was that it spoke. And I could understand it.

"Greetings, Twoleg," it said. "I am Bluestar, former leader of ThunderClan and current representative of StarClan. It appears that you have come to fulfill the prophecy."

**Thanks for reading the first chapter. I hope you liked it. If I was successful, then you will be waiting for the next chapter with anticipation. I am sorry if my updates are infrequent. I am dealing with band practice (marching band and concert band), as well as a ton of homework. I will do my best to update as frequently as I can. I ask that you would please review. This is my first story on the site and I want to know how I am doing and if people like the story. If you have suggestions or ideas, these are welcome as well and will be taken into consideration. Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 2

The New Cat

Chapter 2

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**KondorFire here. Thanks for reading the Prologue and Chapter 1. If you have been slightly confused, this chapter will put everything together for you. Prepare to be confused no more! I hope you like this chapter. It didn't take me as long as I thought it would to update, but I felt like I really had to write this chapter. I'm updating only two days after uploading the first chapter.**

**Special recognition goes to 18wanda for being my first review EVER! Thank you for the review and I hope you stick with me and the story.**

**Happy reading!**

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"_Greetings Twoleg," it said. "I am Bluestar, former leader of ThunderClan and current representative of StarClan. It seems that you have come to fulfill the prophecy."_

I stood there, baffled and confused. A cat had just spoken to me and told me that I am to fulfill a prophecy. I didn't know whether I should be scared, or if I should just laugh. This was crazy! I was talking to a cat after having a dream about what was happening right now.

"What do you mean that I came to fulfill a prophecy," I asked it. "What prophecy?"

"The one that concerns you, Twoleg,." Another cat came out of the bushes to sit beside the other cat. She said her name was Bluestar, right? This new cat had black and white fur, as well as a long tail.

"Mouse brain." I heard the words muttered behind me. A black cat appeared, as well as a cat with a crooked jaw.

"I am Tallstar," the one with the long tail told me. "I am the former leader of WindClan."

"Nightstar," the black cat said, "former leader of ShadowClan."

"And my name is Crookedstar," the one with the deformed jaw said proudly. "I used to be the RiverClan leader."

I stared at these four cats who now stood in front of me. They looked as if they had faint stars in the fur, and the grass around their paws looked as if it was covered with frost. I was still speechless when Bluestar started to speak once more.

"The cats of StarClan have foreseen trouble coming to this lake. The forest and the Clans are in danger. Things that none of us cats have ever seen will be used against them. Things that a Twoleg might be familiar with."

"I don't understand," I said.

"We sent you those dreams," Tallstar said. "We hoped that they would bring you here to us. And now it is evident that our plan worked."

"What?"

"We brought you here to join the Clans of cats. There are four Clans living around the lake: ThunderClan, WindClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan. They each have different likings, skills and prey. Their lives are in danger an we brought you here to help," Crookedstar explained.

"But what am I supposed to do," I asked them. "How am I supposed to help cats?"

"You are going to turn into a cat yourself!" The forest went silent. Out of frustration and annoyance, Nightstar yelled the truth.

"W-what?"

Bluestar spoke. "For the sake of the Clans and the lake, what Nightstar says is true. We are going to change your form into that of a cat." Her faced had a look of sympathy and pain on it. It didn't look like she really wanted to do this at all. "This is the only way we can be sure that you will help."

I stood there, shocked. They were going to turn me into a cat? Could they even do this? And if they can, how can they do this? How could they take my life away from me?

"I don't want to be a cat," I pleaded. "I like my life the way it is."

"It is the only way," Tallstar said, his head bowed.

The four cats began to glow. They shone as bright as a star. I watched as the lights of the individual cats become on. It flew at me and I felt a sudden warmth as it hit my body.

"Pain suddenly wracked through my body. The first thing that I noticed was that I was slowly shrinking. Everything around me was getting taller. My hands burned and itched, and I noticed that I was growing fur all over my body. My head hurt as my ears became pointed and moved to the top of my head, and my face pushed out a little to form the muzzle of a cat. I felt my teeth change and become a little sharper and my vision became better as my eyes changed to those of a cat. My back hurt as my spine grew longer, forming a tail. My fingers melded and became paws, and retractable claw formed at the end of these. I felt excruciating pain as my bones changed. As my legs became the hindlegs of a cat, I could no longer stand up. I fell to all fours and realized that my feet, no paws, had formed pads. My whiskers had formed and my fur stopped growing. As my senses heightened and I felt the instincts of a cat flood my mind, I realized that my transformation was complete.

I was now a cat.

"We must go no," Crooked star said weakly. "Our strength is little." He turned and limped out of the clearing. Nightstar and Tallstar followed him, but Bluestar stayed behind. She looked sympathetically at the new addition to the lake.

"I'm sorry," she told me. "This is the only way, our only hope. We might be able to change you back when the danger is past. I am of StarClan. We live above you in Silverpelt in the night sky. I will be looking out for you, remember that. Now you must find a Clan to live in. I would go to ThunderClan, if I were you. It is the best, though I am a little biased. Don't be afraid to give the other Clans a try, though. You might like them." She raster her muzzle on my head. "Good luck. Be strong. I must say good-bye for now." Bluestar vanished.

I was overwhelmed. As I look sown into a puddle a few feet away, I saw a young cat looking back at me. I was no longer a human. I was a cat. I did something that I didn't think was possible for cats. I cried.

I fell asleep on the forest floor.

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**Thanks for reading Chapter 2! I hope you liked it. I also hope that those of you that might have been confused are not confused anymore. I don't know when the next chapter will be coming out. I will be sure to update as soon as I can after I finish writing the next chapter. Please review! This would be very much appreciated and is desired by all writers on this site, as many of you know. Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 3

The New Cat

Chapter 3

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**KondorFire, here. I want to thank anyone who is reading this for their time and support. I want to thank those of you who have submitted reviews especially; every time I see that I have another review, it makes my day.**

**I'm sorry for the long period of time in which I haven't updated. My teachers at school decided they wanted to pour homework down on us like rain, and it didn't help that I have marching band practice every day after school. Thank you for being patient.**

**Happy reading!**

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"Wake up." I felt someone poking my side.

"Just five more minutes," I complained.

"Wake up you piece of fox dung!" I was hit on the head. Why would my dad do that? He never hit me! What did I do wrong?

I opened my eyes and saw a cat staring angrily down at me. The cat's teeth were bared and the fur around its neck was bristling. Frightened, I stood up and tried to run away, but fell after only a few steps. I looked down at my feet to see why I had fallen and saw that my feet were paws. Everything came back to me all at once: my dreams, the forest, Bluestar, and a painful transformation. I was a cat. A cat with fur, a tail, and four paws. I hadn't walked anywhere as a cat before, so I didn't know how to use paws. That's why I had fallen. I heard a growl. I looked back to see that the cat was advancing on me. ON his left and right were two other cats, also showing signs of aggression.

"What are you doing on ShadowClan territory," the fist cat demanded.

"ShadowClan territory?" That rang a bell. "Are you part of one of the four Clans that lives around the lake?"

"Yes, now get off our territory!"

"Wait," I yelled. "Can I join your Clan?"

The ShadowClan cat started laughing. "Have you got fleas in your brain," he asked. "You're no older than the youngest apprentice. You don't even look as if you know how to fight. If you did, you would be standing your ground instead of running away. I bet you don't even know how to catch a mouse."

I realized that this cat was right. I could not prove that I could fight or catch a mouse. I had only just become a cat. I couldn't even walk, let alone fight or catch a mouse.

"It is time for you to leave the territory. We can either escort you to the nearest border, or we can chase you off. Your choice."

I chose the escort. As the three cats surrounded me, we started to move. I stumbled along for the first couple of steps, but eventually got the hang of walking with four paws. It wasn't that difficult, really. The instincts that came along with my new cat body helped. As we padded along, I looked around at the scenery. The part of the forest we were in had a lot of pine trees. I noticed that the density of the trees cast shadows along the forest floor. There was darkness between every tree. My paws were wet from walking through small marshes. _Maybe it's a good thing these cats turned me down_, I thought. _Why would any cat want to live here?_

"Here we are." The leading cat stopped abruptly. He turned to me and said, "You can either follow this wretched Thunderpath, or you can go and bother RiverClan. Whatever you choose, stay off our territory." With that he pushed me across the border. The cats then turned and left.

_Well that went well_, I thought. _What did that cat mean by Thunderpath?_ I looked around for what might be a "Thunderpath." The only things I saw that were unnatural to a forest setting were small docks and a road. The road! The road was the Thunderpath because when cars were driven on it, the made a rumbling sound, almost like thunder. I could follow it home, I realized. I could go home and my parents could take care of me.

_Then what's the point_, I argued with myself. _I was turned into a cat for a reason, and that was to help these forest cats. If I were to leave, then the whole process would have been for nothing._

With a sigh, I saw that I was right. I started padding on, across the border with the new scent, and into the territory of RiverClan. My stomach rumbled and I realized that I hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. I looked up at the sky. The sun was high, and from its positioning and the shadows formed on the ground, I determined that it was a little after noon, right about when I would eat lunch. The thought of food was making my mouth water, but then I realized that I would have to catch and kill my own mouse if I were to eat. My appetite was gone at this thought.

I really don't want to be a cat.

As I walked through RiverClan territory, I began to smell the scents of many different cats. The scents were overwhelming to me. I had never smelled so many different things at the same time as a human. The sound of water in a river hit my ears. Along with it came the sound of cats. I could hear cats talking and kits playing. I also smelled something that made my stomach rumble again. I followed the scents and sounds over a river and through some reeds. The scene before my eyes was something I could never have imagined. I saw cats milling around, talking with each other and grooming themselves. I saw little kits play-fighting while a she-cat, probably their mother, watched them. I saw dens made from branches, twigs, and reeds. As I stood in the opening to the small camp, I didn't notice that there were other cats that had come up behind me and sat there, waiting for me to move.

"Would you move out of the way," a voice complained behind me.

"Oh. Sorry." I stepped to the side to allow the other cats through.

"Mousebrain. Nest time, don't block the way." The she-cat turned to confront me and here eyes widened in shock. "Intruder!"

The next thing I knew, the she-cat was on top of me and a group of cats had surrounded us. Just as the she-cat was about to strike, we heard a voice. I looked over to see another she-cat step into the small circle. Her fur was spotted and she held her head high.

"Let her up Mistyfoot," she said.

"Yes, Leopardstar." The blue-grey she-cat that had attacked me got off and let me up. Leopardstar turned to me and spoke.

"Intruder, what are you doing here?"

"I heard that there were Clans living around the lake," I said, thinking quickly. "I came to ask if I could join your Clan."

Leopardstar's eyes grew wide with shock, then narrowed in rage. "You expect me to allow you into RiverClan," she yelled. "You, a cat we don't even know? You, a cat who is currently an intruder in our camp?" She turned away. "Leave this camp and don't come back," she ordered. "My warriors will attack if they see your face again." She stalked away.

Seeing that my chance was gone, I turned and left the camp, my head and tail drooping. I padded along the shore of the lake, and looked down into the water. It was getting dark and I could barely see my reflection. What I did see of it, though, was that I was a young cat with black fur and white patches on my chest, front-right paw, belly, and tail tip, as well as along the bridge of my muzzle. My eyes were a piercing emerald green. All in all, I was a beautiful young cat. Maybe being a cat wouldn't be so bad after all.

As I was lost in my thoughts, I didn't realize that I had passed through a new border. I was startled when I heard voices a ways behind me.

"Ashfoot, there is n intruder in our territory."

"Yes, I can smell that Nightcloud. Keep your eyes open and be ready for a chase."

Afraid of a similar encounter with these cats as I had with the two previous Clans, I ran and didn't look back until I had crossed a small stream and set foot in more forest. Only when I ran into something did I realize that I had made a mistake. I heard a threatening growl.

"What are you doing on ThunderClan territory," a deep voice asked.

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**So there's Chapter 3! I hope you all are enjoying the story. I will try to update again soon. I make no promises, though, except for that I will try my best. With homework, band, and sleep, I am sure you all understand.**

**Please review! Reviews are encouraging, not that I need any encouraging (Oh my gosh! I am going to stop writing if I don't get any reviews. That hurts my self-esteem…just kidding). Reviews are welcomed, though. I'm sure that all of you know that, as you write stories of your own and put them here on this site so others can read, appreciate, and comment about your work.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 4

The New Cat

Chapter 4

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** KondorFire here. I'm terribly sorry for the long period of time it took for me to get this uploaded. I had so many things going on that I had to put this on hold. My teachers decided they wanted to start piling the homework on, keeping me up past midnight many times. Along with the homework, marching band was coming to a close. We had one more big competition: the UIL Marching Competition. We did well there, and moved on to the Area Marching Competition. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the State level, but we definitely had the best performance we have had so far. But now, marching band is over, opening up time for homework, giving me more time for this story.**

** I would like to specifically thank Foxstar-Nukiu for adding me to their favorite story list, as well as thundercat29r for adding me to their favorite author and story list, as well as subscribing to the story and clicking yes on the box for the story and author alert boxes. Thank you both!**

** Enjoy the chapter!**

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"I asked what you are doing on ThunderClan territory," the voice said again when I hadn't answered.

I turned around to see a large tabby with amber eyes and broad shoulders glaring at me. Also with him were two other cats, one of which looked only a little older than me.

"I think we should rip her fur off," one of them said.

"What," I exclaimed. "No!"

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry about trespassing," I began. "I've spent the whole day traveling around the lake, asking ShadowClan, RiverClan and WindClan if I could join them.

Amusement glittered in the big tabby's amber eyes. "And how did that go?"

I didn't like the tone he used when he asked the question, but there was no point in lying. "Well, ShadowClan shoved me over their border, RiverClan kicked me out of their camp, and I was chased by WindClan before I could even get near their camp, let alone see one of their cats," I explained feebly, feeling incredibly embarrassed. _Way to make a good first impression_, I thought to myself.

"Well, you can come and join our Clan," said the youngest cat, a tint of hope in his voice. "Can't she, Brambleclaw?"

Brambleclaw looked doubtful. "I don't know, Foxpaw," he said. "That decision is for Firestar to make. I wouldn't mind having another cat in the Clan, though." He turned to the third cat, the one who had said that he would rip my fur off, which I don't see as possible. _You can't rip _all_ of my fur off, can you? _"Dustpelt," Brambleclaw said, "Run back to the camp and tell Firestar that I have someone for him to meet."

"Right away, Brambleclaw." With a nod, the cat was off and out of sight faster than I could blink.

Brambleclaw turned back to me. "As for you," he began, "We'll see about your Clan situation tonight. Follow me." As he started to walk off, he said, "Foxpaw, stay back with our new friend and keep her safe."

"Yes Brambleclaw."

With that, Brambleclaw started to pad away. Fox paw trotted to my side and we began to follow him. I couldn't figure out what it was, but there was something about Foxpaw that gave me weird feeling. Maybe I was just a little nervous.

"I'm Foxpaw," he said to me. "I'm an apprentice in ThunderClan. What's your name?"

I don't want to lie to him, but I don't think I can tell Foxpaw my real name. It would seem kind of odd for me to tell him that I was a cat named Kaitlin, not when all of the cats around here have weird two-part names. So, coming to this conclusion, I lied. "I don't have one."

"Your parents didn't name you?"

"No, they did. It's just that I got lost when I was still very young, and I can't remember my name because I never had anyone call me by it."

"Oh." Foxpaw looked sad. _Why would he be sad for me?_ I then saw a look of determination come across his face. "I'll make sure you get a name," he said, "And a good one, too. I'll make Firestar let you join the Clan!"

"Thank you," I said as I rubbed my cheek against his. The feeling that I had earlier came back. I looked away in embarrassment, not knowing why I did that.

"Oh. Uh…sure." He turned to look forward, but I could see that what I had done had made him happy.

I looked forward as well and saw that Bramble claw was disappearing into a small tunnel of thorns. Foxpaw followed him, and I went in after that, somehow knowing that he wouldn't let anything happen to me.

I exited the tunnel to walk into an enclosed clearing, with cliffs on every side except for the one with the tunnel. Before my eyes was the ThunderClan camp, I realized. It was even more magnificent than RiverClan's. The only thing that worried me was that it seemed that every cat in the Clan was sitting underneath a ledge, staring at me. Some of the eyes, I saw, were friendly, others blank, and yet others were angry and mistrustful. All of them were curious and questioning.

"Come on," Brambleclaw said to me. He padded to sit at the front of the group, under the ledge. I followed him to the front of the group, not knowing what else to do. Instead of sitting down, however, my nervousness kept me standing. I noticed that Foxpaw sat down near the front of the group next to another she-cat. Something inside of me welled up at the sight of this, but I pushed it back down.

"So you are the cat that wishes to join ThunderClan," asked the cat on the ledge.

"Um, yes…uh…"

"My name is Firestar."

"Yes, Firestar," I corrected myself.

"No, Firestar," I heard another cat yell. I turned to see that a cat with a snow-white pelt was standing, a defiant look in his eyes. "We can't let this cat just walk in and join the Clan. Not when leafbare is approaching."

"Cloudtail is right." Dustpelt, the brown cat from earlier, had come to stand by Cloudtail. "She would be just another mouth to feed. One more cat to too many already."

A black cat with long legs rose to his feet. "I agree."

"That's another reason to let her join," said another cat. "We can't just throw her out into the oncoming leafbare. She doesn't even look as if she could catch a mouse. Let her stay!"

At this, the cats began arguing with each other. I even saw some cats unsheathe their claws as if they were about to fight.

"Silence!" The arguing cats stopped and turned to look at their leader, who was standing on the ledge, looking angrily down at his Clan. "Cloudtail, Dustpelt, Spiderleg; I am aware that leafbare is coming. But Sandstorm is right as well. Senior warriors will meet me in my den to discuss this matter. The rest of you, back to your duties or get some sleep!" He turned and stalked back into the hole behind the ledge, what I assumed was his den. Some of the cats, including Brambleclaw, followed him.

I felt a paw prod my side. It was Foxpaw. "C'mon," he yawned. "Let's go to the apprentice's den and get some sleep."

I followed him to a den made under a bush. He laid down in a bed of moss. "It's over there," he told me, pointing to a corner of the den towards a pile of moss. I went to it, grabbed as much as I could and tried to fashion it into a nest like Foxpaw's. When I was satisfied, I laid down in it and seeing that Foxpaw was already asleep, I closed my eyes and drifted off to my dreams.

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** So how did yall like Chapter 4? Yes, I decided to add some romance; puppy love (maybe kitty love would better fit the situation) right now. I hope this makes up for making all of you readers wait. I ask only one thing of you: please review! I look forward to and enjoy reading the reviews my readers give me. I haven't gotten many lately, though: maybe one or two for Chapters 1, 2 and 3 each. I might have to start being mean like other authors and give a standard for the number of reviews I get before I continue. . . I guess I won't be that mean (not yet at least). Please review!**

** Oh! And I hope you have enjoyed the story so far! The next chapter will be up. . . when I have it written. . .**


	6. Chapter 5

The New Cat

Chapter 5

** KondorFire is back again. I told you that update times would be shorter now. One thing, though. I have realized that as I progress and continue on with my story, my hits have been reduced. That's kind of discouraging, especially when I have almost 300 hits and only 6 reviews. If you have any suggestions, dislikes, or just want to praise, please feel free to do so.**

** This is my first really long chapter, so enjoy it!**

"Hey!"

The paw poked me again. _This seems to be happening a lot._

"Wake up! Firestar has called another meeting!"

I opened my eyes and saw that Foxpaw was standing anxiously over me.

"C'mon, let's go!"

I followed Foxpaw out of the apprentice's den and into the clearing in the middle of the camp. Once again, the cats of ThunderClan were all sitting under the ledge, looking up at Firestar. They all turned to gaze at me as I walked up to them.

"Cats of ThunderClan," Firestar yowled. All of the cats' heads turned back up to look at him. "I have made my decision. This new cat will stay and join the Clan!" Silence filled the clearing, no cat making any comment, not knowing what to make of any of this.

"Come forward," Firestar said to me. I padded to stand under the ledge. "What is your name?"

"I-I don't have one, Firestar."

"I see. Hmm…" Firestar began to look me over and I saw his eyes stop momentarily on my front right paw, the one that was white against black. "You will be called Moonpaw," he said to me. It was a beautiful name. "You are the age of an apprentice, Moonpaw, and we need to choose a mentor for you, to teach you about the warrior code and how to be a warrior." He scanned the group of cats under him. "Graystripe," he called out. A cat with gray fur and a darker gray stripe along his back padded forward to stand by me, a shocked look on his face.

"Me, Firestar? Why?"

"Graystripe, you know what it is like to come into a Clan living in a new and unfamiliar place, with new cats living around you. You have been through a lot and have come back, refusing an apprentice for long enough so that you can prove yourself again. You have accomplished this many times over and it is time for you to have your first apprentice in this new territory. Graystripe, you are my closest friend, and I trust that you will help Moonpaw in her quest to become a warrior."

"I will, Firestar. You can count on me." Graystripe padded up to me. When he realized that I had no idea in the world what to do, he gave me and instruction. "Put your nose on my shoulder."

I did so, and he put his nose on my head. We stood there like this for a moment until Graystripe stepped back, pride gleaming visibly in his eyes.

"Now," Firestar began, talking to the whole Clan this time. "I expect that you all will help your new clanmate get accustomed to her new surroundings. I know that you will respect her and treat her like you would one of your other clanmates. Let us all welcome Moonpaw into ThunderClan."

There was complete silence for a moment, until Graystripe started to call out my new name. "Moonpaw!" Firestar and Foxpaw joined him, and quickly, the whole Clan began chanting. The whole Clan except for Cloudtail and Dustpelt, who padded back into the warriors den.

When the chanting died down and all of the cats went back to their duties, Firestar came down and padded up to me and Graystripe. "Welcome, Moonpaw, to ThunderClan," he said to me. "Since it is only early morning, I expect that Graystripe will show you around the territory."

"Of course, Firestar!"

"Good. I advise that you both get something to eat, and when you get back, Foxpaw, I am sure, would be glad to show you around the camp." A hint of amusement glinted in Firestar's emerald eyes. "You know, I think he's very excited that you are now a part of ThunderClan. He came to me last night, begging me to let you stay. Have a good day, both of you." Firestar padded away to speak with a ginger cat, who looked at him with loving eyes.

"That's Firestar's mate," Graystripe whispered to me. "Her name is Sandstorm. I can tell you something interesting about those two, but first, but first, let's get something to eat and we can be on our way."

He padded off to a pile of dead animals. I realized that this is where the cats of ThunderClan stored their food if it wasn't being eaten. I also realized that I hadn't eaten for a whole day, that I was hungry, and that if I didn't eat something, I would end up dying of starvation. With disgust growing inside of me, I padded over to where Graystripe was.

"Here we go," he said. "I found you the best piece of fresh-kill in the pile." He put down a fresh, plump mouse at my feet. Grabbing a small bird for himself, he sat down. "Let's eat!"

Graystripe dug his face into the bird, not seeing the horror flash across my face. _If I don't eat anything soon, the rest of the Clan are bound to notice_, I thought. So, despite my mind's yowls of distaste, I crouched down and took my first bite of a mouse. I dug my teeth into its skin and ripped the meat away from the bone. I began to chew and realized that mouse was WONDERFUL. I had never tasted anything better in my whole life! Not knowing how I acquired this taste, I took another bite, and another, and another. Soon the whole mouse was gone and I was full, savoring the taste left in my mouth. I looked at Graystripe and saw him staring at me, his eyes wide in shock.

"Well," he said. "It seems that there's a cat in the Clan that can eat more than me now!"

"Sorry. It was just so GOOD!"

"It's okay," he said, the shock in his eyes turning to laughter. "It doesn't look as if you have eaten for a while. How about you take another piece?"

"Thank you! How does bird taste?"

"Almost like a mouse, just a little less flavorful and a lot more feathers."

It didn't decide as tasty as mouse, but I decided to try it. I took a bird from the pile and started to stuff my face. Graystripe was right, and I didn't like it as much, but it was still delicious.

"C'mon," Graystripe said to me, finally done with his meal. "We need to get going if we are going to make it all the way around the territory today." I looked at the fresh-kill pile longingly. Graystripe just laughed. "We can catch some while we're exploring. Let's go."

Graystripe padded out of the camp through the thorn tunnel and I followed him. As I exited the tunnel, I saw him speed away out in front of me, and I had to run to catch up. He finally slowed down as he reached a tall tree.

"This is the Sky Oak," he said to me. "This tree is the largest in our territory and reaches up into the sky. Cinderheart, one of our warriors, tried to climb it when she was an apprentice to save a clanmate. She fell and broke her leg. It took her a while to recover, but she eventually earned her warrior name. Let's continue the boundary along the lake towards ShadowClan territory."

"Okay."

Graystripe set off again, this time at a trot, so it was easier to keep up with him. When we came out of the trees, the lake was in front of us. He turned and kept on walking.

"This, of course, is the lake. It is one of our territory's boundaries for the obvious reason that it can't be moved."

We continued on along the shore line until the trees began to change. When this happened, Graystripe turned and went back into the forest. I realized that this area of the forest smelled different. It hand a nasty stink to it.

"This is our boundary with ShadowClan," Graystripe told me. "They like to sneak around in the shadows of the pine trees. They are the one Clan that no cat can ever trust, seeing as they are always trying to gain more territory. They would steal the pelt right off your back if they could. Whenever you are traveling along this boundary, be careful and keep a lookout for ShadowClan cats."

I nodded, having no breath to waste speaking. Except for stopping at the Sky Oak, we hadn't had a chance to sit down. I was tired and Graystripe realized this.

"Just a little farther, okay? We are almost to the abandoned Twoleg nest, which is the halfway point."

I just nodded again and sucked it up. If I couldn't make it halfway around my new territory, there was no point in me being here.

After a little while of us running some more, Graystripe finally slowed down and came to a stop. I looked up to see why and saw an old decrepit house standing right in front of me. It didn't smell as if any humans had been there for a long time. For some reason, I shivered looking at the house. I never would have done that if I were still human.

"This," Graystripe said, "Is the abandoned Twoleg nest. This is where Jayfeather, our medicine cat, comes to get catmint, the best herb for greencough. This is also where we sill stop and rest. Let's go inside. There aren't any Twolegs here anymore." When he saw that I looked a little bit anxious, he said "You know, there are a whole bunch of plump, juicy mice in there."

My eyes lit up with excitement. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I ran into the house, leaving Graystripe standing outside laughing.

"Wait for me!"

He padded in to see me sitting with my tail around my paws. "Would you catch a mouse for me," I asked.

"You don't know how?"

"Um…no"

"Well, then, it's time for your first lesson!"

"So I'll be able to catch mice whenever I want?"

"Yep. The first thing that you have to do is find a mouse. You know what mouse smells like, so use your nose." I sniffed the air and was overwhelmed by the smell of mouse. I focused on it and turned around to see a mouse scuffling along the ground, a seed in its mouth.

"Good, now crouch down and evenly distribute your weight over your paws." I crouched down and did so.

"That's really good," Graystripe told me. "I think that's the best I've ever seen an apprentice do their first time hunting. Now, slowly stalk forward and when you think you've gotten close enough, pounce on the mouse and finish it off with a bite to the neck."

I nodded and began to slowly crawl forward, trying to keep my weight evenly distributed so as not to make a sound. I was surprised when the mouse didn't freak out and run. Before long, I was pretty close to it. I decided that now would be the best chance to pounce. I felt my muscles in my legs begin to tighten and then release, getting me to the mouse, where I grabbed it with my paws and delivered a swift bite to the neck, instantly killing it. I turned back to Graystripe, the mouse dangling from my jaws and my eyes full of pride.

"Good job," he said. "Fantastic! I think you are the first apprentice to ever have caught a mouse on her first try. Are you sure you haven't done this before?"

"I'm positive," I said. I padded over to Graystripe and dropped the mouse at his feet. "This is for you," I said. "Thank you for teaching me how to hunt."

"Your welcome and thank you."

As Graystripe began to eat I went off to hunt more mice. When I came back, I found that Graystripe had caught another mouse.

"Are those all for you," he asked, spotting the three mice dangling from my jaws.

"Yeah. What's your point?" I dropped all three and once again, I began to stuff my face. _Mouse is DELICIOUS!_ Soon enough, I had finished all three mice. Graystripe stood up, flicking his tail and signaling that it was time to leave.

"Oh no," he said as we stepped outside. "It's getting late. There's not enough time for us to go all the way around our territory. I think we need to go back to the camp."

"Okay."

"You know why we are late, right? It's because you ate so much."

"Hey!" I sprang on him, knocking him over. He fought back, but when it was over, I had him pinned to the ground.

"Okay, okay. Get off me, you big lump!" I stepped back and let him stand up. "Now we've wasted even more time. Let's get back to camp."

As we started to walk through the forest, something popped into my head. "Graystripe," I said. "You told me earlier that you could tell me something about Firestar and Sandstorm. What was it?"

"Oh, that's right. When Firestar first joined the Clan, Sandstorm hated him. She would make fun of him and call him names. That changed soon enough, though. They eventually became mates, even though they fell out a few times over silly reasons."

"What did you mean when you said 'When Firestar first joined the Clan?'"

"That's right, you don't know anything about Firestar. Before he was a part of ThunderClan, Firestar was a kittypet named Rusty. I was still an apprentice then, and I found him looking in the woods. Our leader, Bluestar, let him join the Clan and he eventually became leader."

"Oh." Something that Firestar had said earlier that morning popped into my head as well. "What did Firestar mean when he said that you knew how it felt to come into a Clan in a new territory and new cats?"

"That's an even longer story," Graystripe said. "But I'll shorten it down. I was once captured by Twolegs and forced to live like a kittypet. When I escaped with the help of a cat named Millie, I set out in search of ThunderClan. When I came to our old camp, however, they weren't there. I had to travel from the old forest all the way here to the lake to find ThunderClan again. Millie came with me and became my mate."

"Did you say that ThunderClan used to live somewhere else?"

"Yes, but you'll have to ask the elders about the Great Journey. As I said, I came on my own with Millie. But now, it's time for you to get some rest." I looked up and saw that we had come back to the camp. "We've had a long day and I'm sure you're tired. Go find Foxpaw and he'll help you settle in."

"Okay."

I went in through the thorn tunnel and found Foxpaw sitting outside the apprentice's den. I padded over to him.

"Hi Foxpaw," I said, coming up behind him.

"Oh!" He jumped up, startled. "He turned and saw that it was me. "Hi Moonpaw," he exclaimed with delight in his eyes. "This is where we sleep. It's the apprentice's den. Follow me and we'll make you a nest closer to the inside this time."

We went into the den. I grabbed a wad of moss like I did the night before and went farther in to where it was a little warmer, like Foxpaw told me. I put the moss down and fashioned it into a nest, laying down in it. Foxpaw made his own nest and lay down as well. I shivered cold from the night air. _Winter's coming. _I felt a warm body against mine. I turned and saw that Foxpaw had moved his nest to lie next to me. He pressed against my body, warming me up. Once again, that same feeling shot through my body, only a little stronger this time.

"Goodnight, Moonpaw."

"Goodnight, Foxpaw." I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

** Yes, I know that you all are probably tired of me ending my chapters with Kaitlin . . . sorry, Moonpaw falling asleep. I promise, it won't be like this every time. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Remember: suggestions, dislikes, concerns, advice, or just praise are all welcome. All you have to do is hit the little green button. :-D**


	7. Chapter 6

**The New Cat**

**Chapter 6**

** Alright, everyone, KondorFire is back! I'm terribly sorry for the long wait, but I have been busy, despite thinking that I was done with loads of homework. As I said in the Author's note (which has now been taken down), I would transfer acknowledgements over to this chapter, though they will be shorter. So, thank you to Elizabeth-chan, ImmortalShippo, and very recently, Moonstar, Luvlee45215, and Eilatan1011 for your reviews and support. Now, as I promised, a longer-than-usual, action packed chapter!**

** Happy reading!**

"Help! Border attack!"

My eyes snapped open at the unfamiliar call. I looked over at Foxpaw's nest for an explanation and saw that he wasn't there. _Dawn patrol_, I realized. I heard the cats of ThunderClan milling about in the clearing and I ran out of the apprentice's den to see what was going on. I was shocked to see eyes wide in fear and could feel the surprise and anger radiating from my Clanmates. They were all standing in a circle around something, and as I shoved through to the front of the group, I looked in horror at Icepaw. She had more wounds on her than I could count, blood pouring out of all of them. As I watched, she wobbled, her legs growing weak from the loss of blood, and fell to the ground. It was then that I noticed Firestar bounding into the circle, Jayfeather right behind him.

"Icepaw," he said, "what's going on?

"ShadowClan attacked…by the…clearing. Dawn patrol…still there. Tried to…fight…" Icepaw fainted, and Jayfeather carried her to the medicine den with the help of Brightheart.

"Thornclaw, Brakenfur, Cloudtail, Sorreltail, Lionblaze, Graystripe, and Sandstorm; you are all coming with me. Briarpaw and Moonpaw, you both are coming, too."

We followed Firestar out through the thorn tunnel and into the forest. Bursting into a full out sprint towards the border. I felt excitement and anxiousness course through my veins at the prospect of my first real battle. It had only been three days since I had joined ThunderClan and been given my apprentice name, and already I was being chosen for border battles. My thoughts drifted back to the past two days. Graystipe had taken me to the sandy hollow for battle training in an attempt to catch me up to the other apprentices. He was surprised to see how fast I was able to learn different techniques, and told me that he was sure that I would become a warrior faster than normal. I had already been taught some intermediate battle moves, and I was performing them with near perfection. The yowls of fighting cats snapped me back to real life.

Our patrol of cats, led by Firestar, burst into the clearing, but we stopped dead in our tracks when we saw the horrific scene in front of us. The ThunderClan dawn patrol were all crumpled on the ground, all of them covered in their own blood. The ShadowClan cats that had attacked had them surrounded into a tight circle. I noticed that Foxpaw was among the bleeding cats, and was trying to get back to his feet to fight even more.

"Blackstar," Firestar addressed a white cat with black paws, "what in StarClan's name is the meaning of all this?"

"Isn't it obvious, Firestar," Blackstar asked. "ShadowClan needs more territory, and I'm tired of you and your warriors stopping me from getting it. Now, stand aside, or we will destroy all of you!"

"Never!"

"Very well. ShadowClan, attack!" Faster than any cat could blink, the clearing burst out into battle once again.

As Firestar headed straight for Blackstar, I saw Graystripe head for the wounded cats, looking for his mate, who had gone out on the dawn patrol. I decided to follow his suit and go help Foxpaw, but before I could take even one paw step, I was bowled over by a ShadowClan she-cat. She pummeled my belly with her unsheathed claws, but jumped off when I tried to kick her with my hind legs. I leapt to my feet and faced her.

"Who are you, new cat," she asked.

"What's it matter to you?"

"A new cat is the business of the whole forest."

"Yeah? Well, right now, you're my business!"

I leapt at the cat and bowled her over with the same attack she used on me. Instead of raking her with my hind claws, though, I continued the roll so that I was under her. I used my powerful hind legs and kicked her stomach as hard as I could. She flew through the air and slammed into the trunk of a tree. Her body went limp and fell to the ground. She stayed there, unconscious.

I was elated at my first victory in a real battle. I could feel the adrenaline pulsing through my body, excitement welling up inside me. I brought my attention back to searching for Foxpaw. I raced over to where my unconscious and bleeding Clanmates were laying, but he wasn't there! As I turned around to search through the mass of screeching cats, I came face to face with two ShadowClan apprentices.

"Who are you," one of them asked.

"I already went through this with her," I said, pointing my tail at the unconscious she-cat I had kicked into a tree just moments before her.

"Russetfur!" The other ShadowClan apprentice ran over to the unconscious ShadowClan deputy

"ThunderClan filth," the remaining apprentice spat as he lunged at me.

I ducked down as he jumped, letting him sail over me. As he landed, I turned and sunk my teeth into his leg. He kicked out with his free hind leg, but I managed to back away before h could make contact. Jumping up, I sailed through the air and landed on his back.

"Get off me!"

"With pleasure," I hissed. I put my forepaws on his head and jumped off, pushing his face into the ground. He came back up, spitting dirt and grass out of his mouth, looking annoyed.

"Don't touch my apprentice, fox dung," I heard as I felt claws score their mark down my side. My body burned with the pain of my first wound. I felt the blood welling out of the wound, trailing down my side and dripping to the ground, forming a small pool of red.

"And you stay away from mine, Oakfur!"

I heard the sound of two bodies connecting and saw the ShadowClan warrior launched away from me. I turned and saw that Graystripe had come to my aid, and was now facing off against Oakheart. As they were about to start attacking each other, the clearing became silent. Blackstar's voice rang out among the cats, and all heads turned to look at him.

"Firestar, take your warriors and leave, or I will kill this apprentice with my own claws!"

"Let go of me, you sorry excuse for a leader!" Foxpaw!

"Shut up. You're nothing but an expendable apprentice."

"Blackstar, don't do this."

"Don't move, Firestar, unless you and your warriors are leaving."

I looked around, desperately looking for something that I could do to help. I couldn't see Blackstar, which meant that he couldn't see me. I realized that I was on the edge of the clearing, and an idea popped into my head. Quietly, I backed up until I pushed out of the bushes behind me, into the forest surrounding the clearing. Quickly, I ran around the edge of the bracken that enclosed the clearing to where I thought Blackstar was standing.

I only had one shot. I took a deep breath and jumped onto the tree in front of me. Putting one paw in front of the other, I began to climb quietly. I reached the part of the tree that had branches reaching out, and I began the climb onto one. Reaching the end of the branch, I looked down and saw that I had chosen the exact place to be. Blackstar was right under me. Looking out at the cats in front of me, I realized that if something went wrong, ThunderClan would be done for. One cat caught my eye, though. As I looked among the faces below me, I saw my mentor's eyes widen as he spotted me. Knowing that he would yell out and tell me to get down, I lifted my tail in front of my mouth, signaling to him to be quiet. He nodded slowly, and a look of determination grew in my eyes. With one last check around the clearing, I saw that no other cat had seen me. I looked back down at the ground right below me at my target: Blackstar.

"Time's up, Firestar. Leave now or I will end this apprentice's life."

A defeated look began to appear in Firestar's eyes as he pleaded one last time. "Please, Blackstar. You don't need to do this."

"Too late. You have until the count of three until I tear his throat out. One!

I braced myself, knowing what I had to do.

"Two!"

Taking a deep breath, I jumped out of the tree.

"Three!"

** Mwuahahahahaha! Yes, I know. I'm evil. I make you wait for at least a month for a new chapter, and I leave a cliff hanger! There is one thing that will make me put up a new chapter faster, though. Review! Press the button below and comment on how evil I am, how much you like the story, what you think will happen next, or what you would like to happen next. All reviews will be read and taken into consideration. I thank you all for your support and for reading this story. I hope that you all are enjoying reading this as much as I'm having fun writing it.**

** Farewell until the next chapter, and until then, happy reading!**


	8. Chapter 7

**The New Cat**

**Chapter 7**

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………**....**

** Alright, everybody, I'm back with a new chapter. I didn't feel like being diabolically evil, and I didn't want to make you all wait again. I have finals this coming week, which means my writing will be at a minimum, and I didn't want to forget what I had in my head. But first, thank you to my most recent reviewers and reviewers that I missed last night: XxiheartpiexX, Echoheart, Hawkfire360, and Nick the Reaper. Thank you Hawkfire360 for pointing out some mistake. When I saw them, I beat myself (not really) and I even saw a mistake that you didn't notice. These mistakes have been corrected. And to clear things up for everyone, I am not a girl, so therefore, I cannot be Moonpaw. My warrior name is Stormclaw, for those of you who want to know.**

** Also, I just read ****The Fourth Apprentice****, and realized that Leafpool hadn't left the Clans like I thought she did, but simply resigned as a medicine cat. This story will continue on as it was intended, as if Leafpool had left the Clans. The main focus of this story is not the Power of Three, either. Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovekit (paw) is not the main priority, though if you would like, I will try to include them in the plot of the story.**

** And now, on with the battle!**

* * *

"Three!"

As Blackstar yelled out, I had jumped out of the tree. Now, I was hurtling through the air, straight downwards at the ShadowClan leader. As he raised his unsheathed and prepared to bring it down on Foxpaw, I slammed into him. The force of the impact sent Foxpaw flying to where the other ThunderClan cats were standing, wide eyed in surprise at what I had just done. Blackstar was now on flat on the ground moaning, myself on top of him and unable to stand. Like Blackstar, I was feeling intense pain from the force of slamming into him. _Maybe that wasn't the best idea_, I thought to myself.

The clearing was silent, every cat, ThunderClan and ShadowClan, just staring at the most incredible and ridiculous thing they had ever seen. A new ThunderClan apprentice, whom none of the ShadowClan cats knew, had just jumped out of a tree at the ShadowClan leader, had forcibly made him let go of the apprentice he was going to kill, and was now laying on top of Blackstar, both of the moaning in pain.

All of a sudden, I felt Blackstar move under me, and I was flung off his back. Landing on the ground a few feet away from him, I turned and saw him stand up and look at me, intense anger and hatred burning in his eyes/

"Who are you," he spat.

_Why is _everyone_ asking me that?_ "My name is Moonpaw," I told him.

"Wait a minute," a voice rang out from the crowd. A ShadowClan pushed to the front of the mangled group of cats. "She's that cat that we chased out of our territory three days ago!"

"So _you_ are the cat that wanted to join ShadowClan? That just makes three reasons why I should kill you!"

My body still in pain, and not being the best of moods, I meowed sarcastically, "What are the other two?"

Yowling in rage, Blackstar leapt at me. Knocking into me, he pushed all the air out of my lungs. I was on my back with him pummeling by belly again and again with his back claws. Pain seared through my body, blood pouring out of my wounds. I saw Graystripe, Firestar, and some other ThunderClan cats try to come to my aid, but they were stopped as Blackstar's cats formed a tight circle around us. I managed to roll over, and knock him off my back. I jumped on him, but he rolled, too, and flattened me on the ground with his muscular body. He was on my back, once again raking his claws down my back. None of my feeble attempts to get him off me worked, and I gave up. _What was the point of this, StarClan? Why turn me into a cat, just to have me die three days after I join one of the Clans?_ I closed my eyes and waited for Blackstar to end my life.

All of a sudden, the claws on my back were no longer there. The weight of Blackstar had been lifted off of me. I stood up, wobbling, and turned around to see that Blackstar was being attacked himself. _Is that…? No, it can't be… Foxpaw!_ Foxpaw had charged at Blackstar, had knocked him off me, and was now in the process of dealing blow after blow at the ShadowClan leader. The ShadowClan cats had forgotten about Foxpaw, who had been tossed to the side when I had jumped down onto Blackstar. I had saved Foxpaw's life, and now, he was returning the favor.

Foxpaw's attack, however, was over as quickly as it had started. Blackstar had managed to dodge one of his blows, and had gotten around him to clamp his jaws down onto Foxpaw's hind leg. Foxpaw let out a wail of pain, and tried to kick Blackstar away. Blackstar was too fast, though, and merely sidestepped the kick. Foxpaw was putting up a fight, but I realized that he wouldn't last much longer. He was still bleeding from his earlier wounds, and now his leg was bleeding heavily. Once again, I had to save Foxpaw's life.

I dashed over to where the two toms were fighting and sunk my teeth into Blackstar's own leg. He let go of Foxpaw and cried out in pain, but was able to wrench his leg out of my grasp. Foxpaw came to my side as Blackstar stepped back.

"I'm going to kill you _both_!"

"Not likely, Blackstar," Foxpaw spat.

"Why don't you go back to your own dump of a territory," I hissed at him.

"I'm not leaving until you two are dead!"

A ShadowClan cat padded to Blackstar. "Would you like help, Blackstar? There are more of us than there are ThunderClan cats."

"Get away from me," Blackstar yelled at his own cat. "I'm going to finish this myself!"

Blackstar pushed his warrior away, and once again tried to attack. This time, however, Foxpaw and I were able to fight back. Dodging, blocking, and dealing out blows, Foxpaw and I pushed Blackstar back, until he was up against a tree. Realizing in anger that he was about to lose a fight to two ThunderClan apprentices, he was pushed over the edge. He rushed Foxpaw and kicked him across the clearing. Turning to me, a hungry look flared in his eyes.

"You are going to die first!"

He jumped straight at me. My feline instincts taking over, fell on my back. As his body sailed over me, I put my claw up, claws unsheathed, and sunk them into his belly. A second later, I pulled my claws out and he continued over me. He stumbled as he hit the ground. Standing up, I saw him fall, horror and anger in his eyes.

"Defeated…by an…apprentice? But…how?" Blackstar's body went limp and the ShadowClan cats broke ranks and rushed over to him.

Foxpaw came over to me and whispered in my ear. "C'mon. Now is probably not the best time to sit and watch."

I nodded and followed him to the group of ThunderClan cats who weren't carrying a Clanmate. I took no notice when they formed a tight circle around me. All of us began to head back through the forest to the ThunderClan camp, even the unconscious dawn patrol cats, who were being carried. It was quick but silent procession. Soon, we were heading back through the thorn tunnel into the small clearing that was the ThunderClan camp. The cats who had remained at the camp opened their eyes wide in horror as they saw us enter the camp. All of us were bloody and had many wounds. Except for Lionblaze, I realized. He was covered in blood, but he didn't have one scratch on his body. I told myself that I would ask someone about it later.

As our group of cats began to head off to the medicine den, herded there by Jayfeather, I was stopped by a tail on my shoulder. I turned around to see Firestar looking down at me.

"May I speak to you, alone, please?"

I nodded and followed him up to his den behind the Highledge. Once inside the small cave, he sat down, and signaled for me to do the same.

"Do you realize what you just did back at the clearing?"

I shook my head. "No, not really. I was just fighting to save Foxpaw and myself from being killed."

"Which you did. And, might I add, with the most humorous and surprising plan ever. But I don't think you realize that you just took one of Blackstar's lives."

My eyes widened in alarm. "I killed Blackstar?"

"Once, Moonpaw. You killed him once. You see, us leaders are given nine lives by StarClan so that we may protect our Clans with all of our strength, that we may be the first on the battlefield and the last to leave. So yes, you killed Blackstar, but he isn't dead."

"I'm so sorry, Firestar. I didn't mean to. I was just–"

"I know, Moonpaw. I don't see what else would have ended Blackstar's rampage. I am proud of you for saving your fellow apprentice, despite what happened to Blackstar. That was not your fault. I must, however, prevent you from coming to the Gathering tonight. It's for your own safety. If you were to go, it would be hard to prevent another battle from beginning. This is not punishment, please understand this. Before the battle, I was going to let you come, but for your own safety, I cannot allow it anymore."

"I understand, Firestar."

"Now, I think you should go and have Jayfeather look at you. And you should probably go and talk to Foxpaw." He leaned down and said whispered in my ear. "You know, I think he really likes you."

"Really?" Firestar nodded. "Thanks, Firestar. I'll go see Jayfeather now." I could feel him watching me, amused, as I ran out of his den.

I padded into the medicine den. It looked as if I was the last cat to come in for treatment. As I looked around, I saw some of my Clanmates lying on the ground, their wounds having already been treated.

"It took you long enough," I heard, an irritable voice coming from a corner of the den. I turned and saw Jayfeather, the medicine cat, coming towards me with a bundle of herbs in his jaws.

"Sorry," I said, dipping my head. Then I remembered that Jayfeather was blind and couldn't see me. "Firestar had wanted to talk to me."

"I see," he said, dropping the herbs at his feet. "Now, where are the worst scratches Blackstar gave you?"

I winced. "So you heard?"

"That took one of Blackstar's lives? Yes, I've heard. It's not that hard to hear news in a Clan with cats who like to gossip. Good job, I must say. He deserved it."

"Um…thanks, I guess." I stood in the same spot, trying to be still as the blind cat rubbed the herbs into my wounds. It felt like ages before he was done.

"There you go. I'm all done. I want you to come back twice a day so that I can renew these bandages. You have some pretty nasty cuts. I suggest you go get some fresh kill and then get some rest. You've deserved it."

"Thanks, Jayfeather," I said as I walked out of the medicine den.

As I exited the den, exhaustion came over my body. I decided to skip the fresh kill and headed straight for the apprentice's den. Walking into it, I saw Briarpaw was asleep. The only other cat in the den was Foxpaw.

"Um, hi Moonpaw. I brought you some fresh kill."

"Thanks, Foxpaw," I said as I settled down into my nest and began to take bites out of the vole he had brought me.

"Moonpaw, can I tell you something?"

"Um, yeah, I guess."

"I want to thank you for saving my life today. You were brilliant."

"Thank you. You were, too. Don't forget, you saved my life, too."

"I know, but…Moonpaw, I really like you. You're smart, and fun, and nice. Moonpaw, you're the most beautiful cat that I've ever seen. "

I could tell he was embarrassed, and I could feel my embarrassment rising up inside me too. There was another feeling there too, though, and it was overpowering. "I really like you, too, Foxpaw."

"R-really?" I nodded. "Th-that's great!"

He got up from his nest faster than I could blink, picked up the moss that had been his nest, and moved it right next to me. He lay down again, and pushed his nose into my side.

I like the feel of his body against mine. Finishing our fresh kill, we put our heads down and closed our eyes. I heard him sigh from contentment, and I felt a warmth spread throughout my body. I began to drift off to sleep, Foxpaw's scent in my nose.

I never fell asleep so soundly.


	9. Chapter 8

**The New Cat**

**Chapter 8**

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** Hello, everyone. KondorFire is back once again. I really hoped that you all liked the last two chapters. I felt really bad about the long wait, so I tried to make them really good. Now, unlike the last time I said this, I actually mean it this time: I will try to write more and update faster. The estimated times between updates is one week. It might not always turn out this way, so please don't get mad at me for not updating EXACTLY a week after one chapter was put up. **

** To allow me to write ahead, I will no longer put acknowledgements to reviewers in the opening note before each chapter. Like I said, this is to allow me to write ahead. I'm not going to remember to go back and check every single time. I will, however, put an acknowledgements page at the very end of the story and say thank you to all of my reviewers. If you stick with me and give praises, suggestions, and point out mistakes I've made, you might get your own acknowledgement, as opposed to getting clumped together with other reviewers who generally said the same thing as you in their reviews. But just think, an single chapter just for reviewer acknowledgement! Everyone's name will be put on that page, whether you are a member of the site, or just an anonymous reviewer.**

** Anyways, on with the story!**

** Oh, and happy reading!**

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Slowly, my eyes began to open. Just yesterday, I had fought in a battle over a border, saved Foxpaw's life, taken one of Blackstar's lives, and had Foxpaw admit to me that he liked me.

I guess you could say that I was exhausted.

I felt like falling back asleep, but the light shining into the den, and the fact that I was the only apprentice left in the den, told me that it was at least noon. So, with a grunt of effort, I pushed myself up onto my paws and padded out of the den.

Stepping into the clearing, I saw Foxpaw, Icepaw, and Briarpaw over by the fresh-kill pile. Blossompaw and Bumblepaw must have gone out hunting. Waving my tail, I picked a mouse from the pile and sat down next to Foxpaw.

"Hi, Moonpaw," Foxpaw greeted me.

"Hello."

"Hey, Moonpaw," Icepaw said. "You should hear about what happened at the Gathering last night."

"Did you go?"

"No, but Briarpaw did."

"Really? But weren't you tired after the battle?"

"Yes, I was, but Firestar asked me to go last night. He said that he needed some of the cats from the battle to go, just in case ShadowClan were there, and I said yes."

"Were ShadowClan there?"

"Yes, but Blackstar wasn't there. Russetfur wasn't either, actually. Littlecloud, the ShadowClan medicine cat, spoke in their place."

"What did he say?"

"He told us that Blackstar and Russetfur couldn't make it because they had both fallen ill."

"Did anyone say the real reason for their absence."

"As a matter of fact, yes. A brand new apprentice said something about it while he was talking to some RiverClan apprentices. He said that Russetfur was still unconscious from when she hit the tree, and that Blackstar was so mad about losing the battle against you and Foxpaw, he was saying that he was going to kill you both at the Gathering, despite what StarClan said. His own clan confined him to his den and set guards outside to make sure he didn't come out."

"I didn't think a clan leader could get that angry."

"Blackstar did."

"Did anything else happen," asked Foxpaw.

"Well, both RiverClan and ShadowClan reported increased Twoleg activity on their borders. I guess that's why ShadowClan tried to attack us."

"But there's always Twolegs around their borders," he complained.

"I don't know," Briarpaw said with uncertainty. "They looked like they were actually afraid this time."

"Oh well. I guess we'll see in time."

"Foxpaw, Moonpaw, Briarpaw, may we talk to you," said a voice from behind us.

We turned around and saw Graystripe and Squirrelflight standing there. Squirrelflight was Foxpaw's mentor.

"Firestar wants us to give you an assessment," Graystripe told us.

"Really," asked Briarpaw, excitement in her voice.

"Um, what's an assessment," I asked.

The other cats just stared at me, their mouths open in shock. Then they remembered that I had only been a part of the Clan for a few days and explained the assessment process.

"An assessment," began Graystripe, "is when we, the mentors, take some of the apprentices out to see their progress in hunting. Depending on how you do, you might become a warrior even quicker."

"Oh."

"So are you all ready," Squirrelflight asked.

"Of course," Foxpaw exclaimed.

"Well then, let's go!"

Following our mentors out through the thorn tunnel, Foxpaw, Briarpaw, and I padded through the forest after them. We finally began to slow down when we reached the Sky Oak. We found our mentors sitting among the roots of the tree, waiting for us.

"Well, now that you're here, it's time for you to go your separate ways," Graystripe said.

"Remember the rules," Squirrelflight told us. "You can't hunt with each other, you can't steal prey, and you can't cross borders. Catch as much prey as you can and then meet us back here."

"And remember, we will be watching you."

Heading off into the forest together, Foxpaw, Briarpaw, and I started planning where we were going to hunt.

"Where are you going to go, Briarpaw?"

"I was thinking about going over by the WindClan border," she said.

"Then you better go over there now. That way is the quickest way there," Foxpaw said, pointing his tail.

"You're right. I'll see you both later." Briarpaw turned and headed off through the forest.

"Where are you going to go, Moonpaw?"

"I think I'm going to go hunt near the abandoned Twoleg nest."

"Well then, I think you better leave now, if you want to get there."

"I guess so."

"Good luck," he said to me.

"You too," I meowed. Then I broke away from him and headed off my own way through the forest.

Trusting my paws and nose to take me to where I needed to go, I let my mind wander off. It had only been a couple of days since StarClan had turned me into a cat, and already, details about my human life were beginning to fade from my memory. I couldn't remember what day it was, or even what I looked like. It was beginning to feel like I had never been a human, not that I'm complaining. I really enjoy being a cat, and I don't think that I would want to become a human again, even if I were given the choice of doing so. Besides, I think I am really starting to like Foxpaw a lot. If I became human again, he wouldn't be able to. I wouldn't be able to understand him, and he probably wouldn't even like me anymore. I don't know what would happen if the fact that I used to be a Twoleg ever got out to my Clanmates.

Shaking my head, I brought my mind back to the present. Looking up from the ground, I saw the abandoned Twoleg nest in front of me. _Time to hunt_. Raising my nose, I took a big sniff and took in all the scents around me. I could smell the trees around me and the herbs that were growing in the flowerbed. A faint whiff of mouse came from the house, which meant I would have to go in it if I wanted to catch some prey.

Padding into the house, the smell of mouse hit me immediately. It was just like my first day in ThunderClan when Graystripe had brought me here. Spotting a mouse across the floor in a corner, I dropped into the hunter's crouch and began my slow stalking across the room. The mouse was plump, and when I leapt for it, it didn't even have a chance. I gave it a swift bite to the neck and killed it, realizing that doing this didn't even bother me anymore. _Maybe I was meant to be a cat_.

It hadn't been much longer and I had already caught three more mice. Thinking that four pieces of fresh-kill would be enough, I picked the mice up by their tails and began my way back to the Sky Oak. Padding through the forest, I saw a gray-furred cat dash through the bushes in front of me, and then disappear. _Graystripe_, I thought. Realizing that he was trying to make it back to the Sky Oak before me, I picked up my pace until I was running through the forest, the four mice dangling from my jaws.

Reaching the Sky Oak, I saw with disappointment that Graystripe had beaten me back. Padding over to him, I dropped my four mice at his paws and looked up at him. He eyed my catches and looked at me with pride in his eyes.

"Good job, Moonpaw," he said to me. "Most apprentices only come back with three pieces of fresh-kill, and most don't ever kill three mice in the time it took you to kill four. I am very proud of you."

"Thank you, Graystripe. It's only because I have a good mentor."

"Now, now. Don't be modest. I didn't catch these mice, did I?"

"I guess not."

Just then, we both heard a rustling in the bushes at the edge of the small clearing. Getting ready for a fight, both Graystripe and I stood ready for an attack. But, when the cat crashed through, we saw that it was only Foxpaw.

"What's the matter, Foxpaw," I asked. "Is a badger chasing you?"

"Twolegs," he panted. "Twolegs by the border. They have some weird shiny thing that they are using to cut down trees."

"What? What are you talking about, Foxpaw," Graystripe said.

"Just follow me. I'll show you where they are."

"I guess we better go, Moonpaw. C'mon." And with that, Foxpaw and Graystripe sped out of the clearing. Getting off my paws, I ran after them.

Following their scents, I chased through the forest after Foxpaw and Graystripe. I finally caught up to them at the border with ShadowClan. They were both hiding in some bushes at the edge, and I went to stand next to Foxpaw.

"What's wrong," I asked.

"Shhh," Foxpaw said. "Look."

I followed his gaze and saw a couple of Twolegs in ShadowClan territory. One of them had a big machine in their hands, and when he turned it on, it made a loud metallic buzzing sound.

"Is that a chainsaw," I whispered under my breath.

As we watched, the Twoleg with the machine put the silver part next to the trunk of a tree. Making contact, the machine continued to push through the tree, making an even louder and more annoying sound. As we stood there, the machine continued to move through the tree, until it came out the other side.

"Timber," one of the Twolegs yelled, though I'm sure that I'm the only one of us that could understand what he said. And as we stood with our eyes wide in shock, the tree began to fall, slowly at first and then picking up speed, until it hit the ground with a loud thud.

"Definitely a chainsaw," I muttered.

"What did you say, Moonpaw," Graystripe asked.

"Oh, nothing."

"Well, then, we should head back to camp to report this to Firestar," Graystripe meowed as he turned away and began to walk back through the forest. "Don't worry, Moonpaw. We won't forget your mice."

Beginning our trot through the forest, I ran beside Foxpaw. We were heading back to the Sky Oak to pick up my four mice, and then we were going back to camp. All the while, something in the back of my mind kept nagging at me. I couldn't remember exactly what it was, but one word kept coming to me.

"Mall."

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** I hoped you like this chapter. I know, it was a little boring, but give a guy a break. I wrote this during exam week. Besides, it's setting up the rest of the story, pretty much. Once again, don't be afraid to review. I LOVE reviews. So review. Do it. Now. Thanks. I plan on updating every week now, so you won't have to wait a month like I made you wait for Chapter 5 or 6. But, until Chapter 9, happy reading!**

** Oh, and don't forget to review. . .**


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